Juneau is about to become the first city in Alaska to get a permanent electric bus in its fleet. (The Municipality of Anchorage leased an electric bus for a four-month trial period in 2018.)
The City and Borough of Juneau received a $5 million federal grant to purchase electric buses and charging stations. The first is expected to quietly hit the streets sometime October.
A spokesperson for Juneau’s Capital Transit said most of its busses will remain diesel-powered for now. But it plans to replace seven of it’s aging vehicles with electric busses by 2022.
Additional funding for this project comes from Alaska’s share of a multi-billion dollar legal settlement from Volkswagen. The car company was sued in 2016 after it illegally sold cars that masked pollution levels during emissions tests.
In recent years, Juneau has become an enthusiastic adopter of electric vehicles. It’s been compared to places like Portland, Oregon when it comes to plug-ins per capita.
